A method and apparatus for producing textile webs representing a combination of meshed fabric and knitted fabric are known (Article in Zeitschrift fur die gesamte Textilindustrie "Chemiefasern 20" of July 1970) wherein, in order to obtain a simple form of shedding warp movement, a flat knitting machine is modified and also provided with a gripper in order to permit the insertion of both weft yarns to be meshed and straight weft yarns in the shed formed. However, it has been found that the production speed of this combined machine does not meet the requirements of industrial use, partly for mechanical reasons (weaving portion slower than knitting portion) and by the large number of loop yarns required (analogous to weft yarns when weaving).
A multiphase circular weaving system is shown and described in Swiss Pat. No. 522,058 and its U.S. counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,262, which is incorporated by reference herein, in which a circular weaving mechanism having two supply devices, each of which supplies a group of warp yarns, are circularly arranged along a closed curve. The supply device for one group of warp yarns has separate storage members between which the warp yarns of the other group are passed. On both sides of the warp yarns parallel to the closed curve are arranged holders with weft yarn bobbins. These holders rotate around an axis of a circular weaving line. In the area of each of the individual weft yarn bobbins is provided a yarn guide or insertion frame or bow for the removal of the weft yarn from the bobbin whereby the yarn insertion bow engages helically over the set of storage members of the one group of warp yarns, and by deflecting the warp yarns of the other group forms the shed in which are inserted the weft yarns released by the yarn bow to produce a lay-in or weft insertion. The described circular weaving machine makes it possible to produce fabrics with linen weave as well as other types of weaves provided the sequence of warp yarns of the first and second groups of warp yarns and the sequence of the successively acting yarn insertion bows are accordingly modified.
Circular knitting machines of the most varied construction and type with varied knitting systems are known for producing meshed fabrics, in particular knitted fabrics, whereby the conventional circular knitting machines frequently have two needle beds in the form of a needle cylinder and a height-adjustable dial plate wherein, on the one hand, are guided the cylinder needles, and on the other the dial needles which are operated by appropriate dial frogs. Such circular knitting machines provide a relatively high productivity and smooth running.